York Deputy Saves Man with CPR, Defibrillator Unit

Deputy Eric Hart saved someone’s life with CPR and a defibrillator for the second time in a little more than year.

Hart, a deputy with the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, saved a man’s live when he responded to a reported unconscious person around 6:10 p.m. June 9. He arrived at the Tabb Lakes subdivision home, where he found the victim’s wife who was on the phone with 911. She took Hart to the man, where Hart tried to wake him. He then determined the victim was having a cardiac incident.

He then retrieved the Automated External Defibrillator from his patrol car. Upon deploying it, the machine said shocking was not necessary, so Hart started CPR on the victim. When Hart was finishing the first round of CPR, medics arrived. Ivey said Hart assisted the medics in getting the victim breathing again. By the time the victim arrived at Riverside Hospital, he had a pulse and was breathing on his own.

Last year, Hart received a sheriff’s commendation ribbon for his efforts in saving an unconscious driver at the scene of a accident May 2, 2012, according to a Virginian-Pilot article. The unconscious man had been seen slumped over his steering wheel when he ran a red light at the intersection of Kiln Creek Parkway and Victory Boulevard. Hart used the AED and helped perform CPR on the man.

All deputies carry AED devices in their vehicles and participate in annual training on how to use the devices and how to perform CPR. The devices were phased in over several years via grants from the Williamsburg Health Foundation and the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

AED devices are used to help restore normal rhythm to the heart. Ivey said about 250,000 Americans die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, which is mostly caused by abnormal heart rhythms. Defibrillation is the only known way to reset the rhythm.